League champs!

The Garden Grove High football team capped off its undefeated league season with a 35-14 win over Santiago High on Thursday, Nov. 6 at Garden Grove.

The Argonauts were even with the Cavaliers well into the third quarter of the game but a sturdy defensive effort led to Garden Grove pulling away for the victory.

The Argos’ Jordan Antunez had a stand-out performance, rushing for almost 200 yards and two touchdowns.

Garden Grove pulled away from Santiago, which came back twice to even things up in the game.

Santiago put the Argos on their heels in the third quarter after Dominick Smith ran back a kickoff return for 94 yards and a touchdown.

The touchdown by the Cavaliers evened the score at 14-14 and was made on the kickoff immediately following a touchdown by the Argos.

About two minutes after Santiago’s score, Garden Grove fired back with a touchdown run by Antunez, which set off Garden Grove to get its fifth consecutive league victory.

The Argos scored two more times to finish the game and shut down a spirited Cavalier side that was overwhelmed in the end.

Garden Grove’s Alejandro Ceja also had a noteworthy night for the Argos as he rushed for more than100 yards and found the back of the end zone twice. Ceja also played the position of quarterback for part of the game, completing three of his eight attempts on the night.

The undefeated season means that Garden Grove walks away with yet another league title but this year it does so under the leadership of new coach Ricardo Cepeda.

In his first season at the helm of the Argos program, Cepeda has looked to continue the successful tradition that Garden Grove has sustained over the years.

Cepeda was quoted earlier in the year saying he looked to run the same offense and defense that the Argos have ran for years, which looks to have been successful so far.

The Argos hold an overall record of 9-1 and haven’t suffered a loss since the beginning of September.

Garden Grove’s defense has been the pivotal piece in Cepeda’s game plan. The Argos have not allowed more than 14 points in a game since their defeat to Woodbridge High in September.

Garden Grove will need its defense to maintain its form going into the CIF playoffs this week.

The Argos face Calvary Chapel High in the first round of the CIF Southern Division playoffs on Friday Nov. 14 at home.

The Eagles (3-2) will have a tough time against the Argos. However, the Eagles finished out their regular season with a blowout 40-0 victory over Costa Mesa High. The Argos will need to take note of the Warriors’ offensive arsenal and adjust their defensive tactics accordingly.

So far, the Argos defense has shown it can face even the most dangerous of offenses and still come out victorious.